Frosted Sun

AN: THANK YOU to all my reviewers. I appreciate all the wonderful words of support, wisdom, and encouragement. I've been under a LOT of stress lately and the muse hasn't been cooperating like she used to. I hope you all continue to stick with me. Your reviews are the only thing keeping this fic alive at the moment. Hopefully once things settle down, the muse will start talking again, and I can return to uploading every 2-3 days like I used to. Wish me luck! Love to all my wonderful reviewers!

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The femme hissed, clutching a servo tightly in her own and huffing through her vents in pain. A servo petted her wings, offering consol as she suffered through the pangs of separation. When she recovered from the pain the trio made their way to the sparking center, their wings held aloft in parental pride.

Sunslide was the Alpha of their trine, having the heavier build with a fiery orange paint scheme and black accents. He was striking, physically and forcefully, which was obvious whenever he demonstrated his acrobatic prowess in the air. His Second, Splitstreak, was of a reddish orange with white highlighting his build and showing the sleekness of his frame. He was light, airy, and very maneuverable in the air. Their mate, a femme named Skyswept, was of a pale orange, her accents of flame red giving the impression of a dying ember. She was the femme of their trine, and she was expecting their first sparkling.

Trines were often paired when they were very young, certain personalities gravitating toward one another in a cosmic pull that couldn't be defined or understood. There were always two mechs to a femme in a trine. The reasoning behind it was that since femmes were the only ones who could conceive and create new sparks, they and their sparklings would be better guarded with the two sires and the mechs could offer a wider spectrum of coding when the sparklings came of age and could bond to their own trine units.

Sunslide, Splitstreak and Skyswept were newly upgraded adults. And like all adult frames, they were allowed to bond to solidify their trine. Skyswept had surprised both when she sparked during their first merge. It was a good sign. All seeker femmes were expected to spark at least twice, preferably at a young age, as an older spark had a more difficult time in sustaining another growing life.

Now, after carrying for what seemed to be an eternity, Skyswept was ready for the new spark to be born. She staggered with another twisting sensation in her chest, Sunslide wrapping his arms around her in support as she stumbled from the pain.

"Just a little further," Sunslide said, nodding to the white metal building that specialized in new spark birthing and supplemental care.

"Primus, no one mentioned how much this hurts," Skyswept said, feeling her two mates caress her wings in an attempt to ease her suffering.

"Just a little longer and we will have our first youngling," Splitstreak said, grinning at the thought of being a creator. Truthfully, neither mech was sure who had encoded their mate, and only after the sparkling started to develop its coloring and engrained basic coding, would they be able to tell. Course there was a slim chance that both mechs had contributed to the young one.

Skyswept nodded, allowing her mechs to guide her into the building. A medic took one look at them and ordered an emergency conveyance. Skyswept lay down on the plush berth with relief, her mates constant with their attention to her wings. She vented heavily, rubbing her chest, feeling the heat build as her spark prepared the youngling for separation.

"Birthing room two," the medic said, directing the portable berth to the appropriate room.

The berth navigated the hall and when it neared the designated room, the double doors opened and allowed the expectant family to enter. The sounds of distressed femmes greeted their audios as soon as they entered. The berth found a vacant station and turned, poising itself to assist the femme in parting with her new spark. The expectant parents looked at the room with trepidation as they noted the couples that lined both sides of the room. In the center were vacant youngling shells, ready to accept the life being brought into the world from the expectant femmes. The flyers noted with some disgust there were only a few seeker frame models in the displayed shells, as most femmes were of ground based origin. Seekers only made up a small percentage of the population, so consequently, their frames wouldn't be in large demand.

The medic followed the expectant femme, a scanner held at the ready and sweeping it over the femme's frame.

"Displaying strong electrical impulse and proper frequency distribution before separation," the medic said, nodding to the femme. "Open your spark chamber."

Skyswept complied, her chest splitting and the silver cylinder that housed her spark cracked open, revealing the brilliant gold of her spark.

"Fully mature with a strong pulse, and I can say for certain, you have a mech on the way," the medic said, looking to the two expectant fathers.

The two hugged each other in celebratory relief, hearing their young mech was strong and healthy. Skyswept wanted to sob in relief, but a pang against her spark casing caught in her throat.

"Just a little longer," the medic said, looking over his readings. "There is still some residual connection that will have to dissolve before the youngling can fully disengage and be ready to enter his new shell."

The femme nodded, rubbing along her plating to help ease the torment of a fussy sparkling.

The medic hooked a lead into the femme's arm, the berth registering her vitals and an alarm set up to announce the preparation for the new shell. A femme at the end of the hall barked in pain and her monitors went wild, signaling her final stage and readiness to expel her sparkling. The medic hurried down the line, leaving the three expectant creators alone. The mechs went to their femme's side, each taking a wing and caressing it with tender fingers.

"Your first?" a mech asked behind Sunslide.

The mechs turned to regard the mech who spoke and saw a brilliant red mech with bright blue optics and a charming, boyish grin. He was seated beside of a sunshine yellow femme, her hands caressing her open chest plates as she cooed to their youngling in encouragement.

"Yes," Sunslide confirmed, noting how similar the two expectant creators were built.

"Us too," the red mech said, smiling at his bond mate. He nodded to the couple on the opposite side. "This is their fourth."

Sunslide and Splitstreak gasped, watching as the minibot spiked his mate. The femme was poised on the berth, her chest plates opened above the display of empty shells. Her body jerked as her mate spiked her from behind, his optics closed as he relished the sensation of his mate about to spark their youngling.

"Minibots don't possess a strong enough spark to initiate the separation process," the red mech explained, his optics watching as the femme clutched at the berth, burying her face against the cushion as she felt her overload approaching. "They require a high energy discharge to separate sparklings, which is usually accomplished by a powerful overload."

The two winged mechs watched in fascination as the femme arched her back, her spark chamber flaring as the portable berth registered her vitals and moved her closer to the displayed shells so her sparkling could jump to a suitable frame. A couple of thrusts and her mate cried out as he overload, electricity crackling across their joined bodies and providing the extra charge needed to allow the sparkling to separate. A small, white orb disengaged from her spark chamber. With a high pitched buzz, it zoomed along the line of frames and settled on the small gray shell six frames away from the new creators.

The mech relaxed into unconsciousness, his duty now fulfilled to his mate and child. The femme cried out from the initial outburst, but the attending medic picked up her sparkling and carried it to the new creator. With a snuffling cry, the mini-femme cradled her child for the first time, hearing the first clicks of its life. A dark green tint was already forming along the younglings plating.

"Wow," Splitstreak sighed, watching as mother and baby were scanned by the medic and given a clean bill of health. When the father regained consciousness, they would be moved to another floor, where the youngling would receive its first programming upgrade and final systems check up before being released to its creators.

Skyswept gasped, rising off the berth a few inches and flexed her wings. Her mates were at her side in a spark beat, saying soothing words and rubbing the taunt appendages. Their neighbor watched the interaction with a smile, until his own mate gave a gasp and lurched forward.

"Just a little longer, Sideslip," he said, caressing her yellow frame.

"You do this to me again, and I'll rip your spike off," Sideslip said, earning a scared beep from her mate.

The noise distracted the trine, who listened to their bantering with amusement.

"But that's your favorite part!" he protested. "You only bonded with me because I came with the spike."

"I'll rip it off and have it mounted to a drone," she answered, her venting becoming harsh as the pain started to build. "I'll keep it, but get rid of you!"

The red mech laughed, his fingers twining with his mates. "You would never."

"No, but I would consider it," Sideslip commented, allowing her mate the gentle touch. She smiled, gazing into his bright optics. Her expression softened as she gazed into the optics of her mate. "I love you, Spinout."

"And I love you," Spinout answered, before crying out in pain when his mate clenched his fingers in her own and warped a couple of his joints.

The monitor on the berth beeped, signaling for a medic to attend the expecting femme. And just as Spinout and Sideslip prepared for the introduction of their new youngling, Skyswept bolted upright on the berth, her monitors signaling her own expecting parentage. Two medics raced along the line, the berths already in motion for the impending separation. The femmes were maneuvered onto their fronts, the berths splitting down the middle to allow the femme the ability to open her spark chamber and allow the little one to exit. Skyswept pressed her shoulder vents into the plush cushioning of the berth, her mates grasping her servos as she clawed in pain.

"At the same time?" Spinout shouted to the two winged mechs, who were helping their femme brace herself on the berth in the final stage.

They merely nodded, keeping their vigil over their mate. She clutched each of their servos in her own and leaned her chest against the modified berth. With their free hands the mechs rubbed soothing circles along her wings and massaged the delicate edges.

"We'll race you," Spinout declared, grabbing his mate's servo and watching the row of empty shells, wondering which one his sparkling would choose.

Sideslip barked in pain and grasp the edge of the cushioned berth. And like a tiny rocket, a white ball of energy erupted from her chest and immediately raced along the frames, searching for the casing to call home. Three shells away and the orb dropped into its new happy home, starting the systems for its first breath of life. The medic picked up the delicate bundle and placed it in Sideslip's arms, where she clicked in answer to her youngling's inquiry. Spinout stood, stunned, staring at his new creation. A wide goofy smile crossed his face plates before he fell back, unconscious on the floor.

"A lot of mechs do that," the medic said to ease Sideslip's worry.

Skyswept keened in pain, crushing the two mech servos she held, and with a flash of lightening, the white spark of their creation exploded from her chest. Sunslide and Splitstreak watched in open mouth wonder as their youngling came to life, hovering over the tiny frames as if deciding its best, suitable home. Much to the seeker's horror, the spark bypassed the aerial frames and kept cruising at a low altitude, examining each shell, looking for the perfect frame. When the miniature nova got to the end of the youngling frames, it stopped, its light going brighter then dimming.

The medics immediately jumped into action, knowing that the young spark was out of its casing for too long. The faltering illumination meant it was failing, unable to find a suitable spark casing. They tried to find an incubating containment box that could house the young spark until it could be placed, forcefully if necessary, into a suitable shell. As the medics neared, ready to capture the young spark and ensure its survival, the flaring white orb emitted a high pitched hum, its light reaching an aching level, causing everyone to shield themselves from the brightness. Then suddenly, the light went out and there was silence.

The medics were too late.

Skyswept emitted a garbled cry, staring at the blank place where her sparkling had disappeared. She lost it? After all she had been through, and the little one terminated? She didn't think she could bear it. Sobs tumbled from her lip components, her body shook in grief, and her two mates could offer no physical or emotional comfort to ease her tormented spark.

Spinout looked to the trine, his face grim. "I am sorry for your loss."

The fact hadn't had time to sink in when there was a weak chirp of an awakening youngling. The medics ventured to the assembled frames, their optics registering the burn pattern that accompanied bright light as it burnt it into ones vision. The new spark had given one last burst of light before fading into darkness. Silence reigned in the birthing room. Even the new sparks had hushed in reverence.

A medic stepped back, staring at the frames below where the spark had extinguished. The sound of faint clicking was heard, and much to everyone's astonishment, there were answering clicks. With shocked fear on their faces, two medics picked up two frames, cradling the small bodies against their own, their scanners active. Sure enough.

Twins.

The medics carried the two younglings to the trine and presented them with their family.

"I don't understand how it happened, but your sparkling has split, and now resides in these.. two… frames," the medic said, motioning for the parents to hold out their arms and accept their charges.

"Split?" Skyswept asked in a hushed tone.

"It's a miracle of Primus," the medic said, looking into the optics of the youngling and earning a soft click.

"Abomination," Skyswept whispered, giving her two younglings a look of pure loathing and shaking her head. She held up her hands, looking to her trine leader and saying, "They are unnatural. I do not want them."

Sunslide's brow plating was furrowed in thought. He regarded the two being held in the medics arms. He could feel the uncertainty and disgust flooding the bond from Skyswept, her thoughts on the matter clear. Splitstreak stepped up, scrutinizing the pair.

"They chose ground frames?" Splitstreak asked, noting the lack of augmentations for growing winglets.

Sunslide glanced to his Second, gauging his reaction. Splitstreak looked to his trine leader, his face creased in aversion to the unnatural 'twins'.

"Grounders?" Splitstreak hissed in a low voice, his gaze boring into his trine leaders. "Not only have they defied the will of Primus and split into two sparks, but they chose to take ground frames?"

Sunslide gave a slow nod. He understood the implications. Seekers sparked seekers. To have a youngling, or in this case, two younglings, to choose a ground mode over their sparking creators own alt mode, it was unheard of. Seekers did not choose ground frames. There must have been a mistake.

Sunslide turned to the two expecting medics, both of which cradled a curious, clicking sparkling in their arms.

"Remand them to the youngling center," Sunslide said, not wanting to even touch the young sparks of his possible creation.

"What?" the medics gasp in unison.

"Why would you do such a thing?" one asked, looking between the three reluctant parents.

"A spark is not meant to split," Sunslide said, giving both twins a look of fearful contempt. "They are unnatural. A defiance to the Will of Primus." He returned his gaze to the head medic and puffed his wings in a clear display of superiority. "And they have chosen ground frames. I will not allow a ground frame to soil my name or the reputation of my trine. They're abnormality will not reflect ridicule on the trine, nor the seekers. They are to be remanded to a youngling center where they may grow up around other grounders."

Skyswept stood from the berth on shaky pedes, her optics locked on the deviant sparks that dared to split and inhabit ground frames, thus bringing shame and resentment to the trine.

"Do you not wish to hold your sparklings?" the medic asked, confused as to why a femme would regard a youngling with such contempt.

"I bore a single spark," Skyswept said evenly, her hard gaze drifting from the whimpering youngling held in the medic's arms. "My sparkling perished when he was ripped apart, allowing these two abnormal sparks to take frames. No, I do not wish to touch either of them."

"My decision stands," Sunslide said, motioning to the two now crying younglings. "They are to be taken away and raised as ground frames. They will not disgrace the lords of the sky."

"As you wish," the medic said, feeling his spark falter at the look the two sparklings were receiving from their creators. "Please, follow the medic in training to a recovery room, where you will be examined and then released."

The trine nodded, following a small femme out of the birthing room. Several couples watched them leave, their own young sparks still trying to gain entry into the world.

"What will we do with the two of you?" the medic asked the sparkling who cried in a series of clicks.

"Give them to me," Sideslip said, her own youngling tucked safely in at her side. She held out her arms, expecting the two extra sparklings.

Confused, yet elated, the two medics handed over the two new sparklings, who immediately cuddled closer to Sideslip's chassis. She hummed softly to them, her own child curling in closer to his two new siblings. The medics checked her vitals and stationed a medic in training nearby to escort the new family to a recovery room, once Spinout regained consciousness. Sideslip smiled at her two new charges, wondering what her bond mate was going to say when he realized he now had two more sparklings to call his own.

As the two medics went to the next femme preparing to spark, one leaned over and whispered, "That was lucky. I hate sending such young sparks to the youth centers."

"Wasn't luck," the other medic smiled, helping to prop a femme up for the impending birth. "Did you notice the coloring of the twins?"

"No," the other replied, checking his monitor and finding the femme to be entering her final stage of delivery.

"They're frames were already starting to shift from the gray of their protoforms," the medic said, leaning back to catch the other medic's optics as they stood back to back. "One was a bright red, the other, a golden yellow."

The other medic smiled, glancing up to the new parents and seeing a surprised, bright red Spinout accept the news of his added sparklings. The golden yellow plating of his mate glittered in perfect tandem to his own, Sideslip doing an excellent job of holding all three sparklings. It was as if her frame was made for such added blessings.

"Those two are special, you mark my words," the medic said, watching as the family disappeared out of the ward and a new femme was brought in. "They are going to accomplish the impossible and they are going to do it in style."

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Well, as a change, I gave the twins a good home to grow up in and it also gave me a reason to focus on another aspect. Just twiddling with the idea that the twins prefer to jump the seekers and play with jet packs simply because, they have an ingrain instinct to do so. If their creators were seekers, it would stand to reason why they are so comfortable in the air and enjoy aerial acrobatics.

Reviews are loved and greatly appreciated.